Barker Mill Foundation marks its ongoing support of the Murray Parish Trust with £100,000 pledge to iMRI appeal

The Barker Mill Foundation has donated £100,000 to The Murray Parish Trust (MPT) towards its £5.5million iMRI suite appeal. The iMRI Suite Appeal is The Murray Parish Trust’s latest challenge which is to fund a revolutionary intra-operative MRI (iMRI) Suite at Southampton Children’s Hospital. The iMRI suite will make Southampton Children’s Hospital a next generation centre for paediatric neurosurgery and pioneering research, which will advance the treatment and care of children across the region and beyond.

Barker Mill Foundation has been a loyal supporter of The Murray Parish Trust for almost five years, having previously donated £10,000 to extend the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Southampton University Hospital, a highly specialised unit providing acute paediatric care for critically ill children from across the whole of the South of England. BMF also match-funded an impressive £40,000 towards #2millionsteps, the £2million appeal to build a brand-new Paediatric Emergency and Trauma Department at the University Hospital Southampton.

The Murray Parish Trust, a Hampshire based charity, was set up in 2014 by actors Sarah Parish and James Murray to thank those that gave them the precious time they had with their late daughter Ella-Jayne who suffered from a congenital heart defect. Following two highly successful fundraising appeals for PICU and #2millionsteps, MPT has embarked on the iMRI suite appeal.

Sarah Parish and James Murray commented: “Tim Jobling and The Barker Mill foundation are exemplary when it comes to trusts and grants, and how much of a positive impact they can have on charities. They focus less on bureaucracy and much more on what’s important – making a real difference to essential causes for the South of England.”

Tim Jobling, Trustee at the Barker-Mill Foundation, said: “The work that The Murray Parish Trust do for the University Hospital Southampton and Southampton Children’s Hospital is inspiring. Sarah, James and the team never stop striving to raise the funds for greater and better care for critically ill children across the region. The charity has transformed the lifesaving care that Southampton Hospital can give to the wider community. The Barker Mill Foundation cannot think of a more worthwhile cause to have given our ongoing support.”

To find out more about The Murray Parish Trust’s iMRI appeal and to pledge your support, visit: www.themurrayparishtrust.com/iMRI-Suite-Appeal/